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The search for Nwanyi Owerri made me a wanderer in need. I learnt a great lesson for not asking the right questions at the right time. If you missed it, read it up here.I want to swap roles with Nwanyi Owerri today so we can see some lessons I also learnt .
Let us review the story again and bring out theories from it.:

“I walked a whole stretch of road searching for a sign post”

THEORY 1
i. There is a possibility that Nwanyi Owerri had a shop on the road.
ii. Nwanyi Owerri did not have a visible sign post to direct people to her.
iii. Nwanyi Owerri did not realize that she is solving a food problem for a class of people
iv. Nwanyi Owerri did not position herself as the “go to” person.
v. Nwanyi Owerri is losing sales.

THEORY 2

i. There was no shop owned by Nwanyi Owerri on that long stretch of road
ii. People like me will be searching for Nwanyi Owerri daily on that route
iii. No one around is conscious of this vast opportunity on that route
iv. A lot of money is being left on the table , there is a waiting and hungry market.
v. The first Nwanyi Owerri that enters the market has a first comer advantage.

Which of these theories resonates with you?
You are more inclined to theory 1 if you have a side business that is not making sales. If you are yet to start a side business, you are more inclined to theory 2.
I will want you to analyze each point raised on each theory and apply it to your Plan B. If you are stuck or needs help with this process, you know you have me here, waiting to hold your hand. Click here to book a 15 minutes free Plan B Audit session with me. [Tweet “If you are stuck or needs help with this process, you know you have me here, waiting to hold your hand”]
In other news. . . . .
My birthday is in a few days time and I am so excited. I am unveiling something really special on that day.
It is on October 8th.
Its gonna be super.
Expect my mails in the next few days to intimate you of all the happenings. If you are yet to be on my mailing list, this is the best time to subscribe.[Tweet “. If you are yet to be on my mailing list, this is the best time to subscribe.”]
Talk to you very soon.

In the last five days, I have been in the City of Lagos. In case you don’t know, I don’t live in Lagos so it is a big deal for me to spend such length of days in Lagos at a stretch(Story for another day).

On Tuesday, I was hungry. I was not hungry for any just any food, I wanted a local igbo delicacy so I went in search of one.

I decided to walk a long stretch of road in search of my ideal food. I scanned every shop and outlet that looked like a restaurant to see if I could locate a “Chioma food canteen” or “ Mama Ngozi restaurant”.

By the time I got to the end of the road, I was already sweating like a Christmas goat. I entered into a shop selling cold drinks to get a drink and ultimately rest my tired legs (Food matter na serious matter).

I noticed the shop owner spoke Igbo so I waited patiently for him to finish with the customers around before catching his attention. I eagerly asked him my burning question:

“Sir, where can I get an Igbo restaurant around?”

“Oh, there is a woman inside the spare parts market. You will have to go back the way you came”.

His response threw me off balance. I felt like crying. After all my toiling and searching, I will still need to go back on another search. I was just a WANDERER.

If only I knew where to get an Igbo restaurant

If only I knew the route I was taking

If only I knew the environment I was

If only I met the drink seller earlier enough

If only I did not assume I knew my way around

If only I had direction

=====================================================

In all of these questions, I had an insight.

=========================================

Because you have spent so many years and months in the corporate world, you often assume you know your way around in the outside world.

You refuse to ask for direction and take the only path you know which is a straight path.

You do not see the need for a coach or a mentor who has gone the path before you to lead you .[Tweet “You do not see the need for a coach or a mentor who has gone the path before you to lead you “]

You end up being like FRANCISCA THE WANDERER.

The wanderer path is not the best place to be. You waste your time, energy and resources and sometime, you do not get to your destination. It is painful.

Remember that you have limited resources in your hands; you cannot afford to waste them.

Ehen, October is my birth month and a lot of goodies are lined up for the month. You do not want to miss any part of it.[Tweet “Ehen, October is my birth month and a lot of goodies are lined up for the month”]

Two days public holiday is a great deal for corporate employees. Holidays are celebrated in our own way and we look forward to the next holiday.

The aftermath of the holiday is always felt on the day of resumption. If you work in a bank like I do, you will understand better. I cannot forget such a day when I saw a customer coming into the bank with a big sack on her head. I initially thought it was rice until she dropped her luggage. Na money dey there.

Yesterday was such a day when the crowd in the banking hall was enough for any gubernatorial candidate to win an election.

I happened to be on the funds transfer table yesterday afternoon to submit some forms. The officer excused herself from the customers to replenish her stock of form.

Immediately she left, a customer approached me. The following conversation ensured:

Me : Good day sir

Customer : I need a transfer form

Me : Sir, kindly hold on. The officer has gone for the forms, she will soon be back.

Customer : You said there is no network?

Me: Not at all Sir. The forms are not with me but the officer has gone for them.

Customer : You mean there is no network for transfer?

Other customers around: She said someone has gone for the forms. Just hold on sir

I had to smile really wide at this point even as other customers made a joke out of the situation.

I however learnt a very important lesson from that situation.

We only hear and see what we want to hear and see.[Tweet “We only hear and see what we want to hear and see.”]

I was separating documents at the time the customer approached me but he “saw” funds transfer forms with me.

I told the customer that the officer was coming with the forms he needed but he “heard” me talking about network condition.

This customer was not intending to be funny nor intending to play smart rather, he was only speaking his mind- all he has conceived in his thoughts.

You and I are like this customer in our daily living. We portray such attributes in our career and most especially in our business. We tend to imagine the worst and are surprised when our imagination comes to pass.[Tweet “We tend to imagine the worst and are surprised when our imagination comes to pass”]

The manifestation of our thoughts seems to validate our thinking but in the real sense, we created our reality.

The Bibles even states that “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”.

It shows the power of the mind in our day to day dealings.

This is why it is always advisable to view things with an open mind.

Even as you read this mail, please read with an open mind.

I am throwing you an “open mind “ test and I want to know if you will pass(yeah).[Tweet “I am throwing you an “open mind “ test and I want to know if you will pass(yeah).”]

I am starting a 5 days Plan B Business challenge in a few weeks. This is a challenge for corporate employees who are struggling with starting a profitable business or finding it difficult to run one.

I scheduled to host my signature event, VALID DREAMS with Francisca on 04/09/2016 for the first time online.

I was so prepared and enthusiastic about the day and I so much looked forward to it.

The day came and the time was on the dot of 3 when the unimaginable happened, my network providers decided to misbehave at such a crucial time. For one hour, I tried and tried but the meeting did not hold.

Was I frustrated? Yes I was

Was I angry? I was very angry

Was I discouraged? No, I was not discouraged. I was rather geared up.

Do you want to know why I was not discouraged?

I started my diaper business at a time when I was perpetually broke. I hope you know there is a difference between being broke and not having money.

I WAS BROKE.

My salary was always finished before I received it. I was stuck and didn’t see a way out.[Tweet “My salary was always finished before I received it. I WAS BROKE”]

My “Take Home” was no longer taking me home.

My saving grace was a chat I had with a friend- she was my life saver. She opened my eyes to see things I never saw and I had a light bulb that instant.

This 5 minutes chat changed my life.

I have since evolved and now I am helping others who were in my shoes in 2014. I am helping them light up the bulb which has been dormant in their minds.

I can help you and I am willing to help you.

On Monday September 11th, I will be dedicating 3 hours to help 6 people in a Free 15 minutes Plan B Audit session. This will be done via skype or facebook call.[Tweet “On Monday September 11th, I will be dedicating 3 hours to help 6 people in a Free 15 minutes Plan B Audit session”]

Have you ever experienced a blank in your thinking? Literarily, you can say it’s a “brain block”.

That is the state I have been since yesterday.

But then, I have to stand up and show up because of you. I have to force my brain into action because of a reason bigger than me.

This reason makes me show up in your mail box every Thursday whether there is eclipse or brain block.

It is a desire born out of my passion to see corporate employees who wants a successful business but struggling with starting and running one to discover the right strategies and venture so that they can live their dream lives.

It breaks my heart when I see people loss money, time and resources in their side business all because they are busy people. I have been there and I have lost so much money within my first 6 years as a corporate employee but that has since changed, I now know better.

There are 3 things you need to invest into your business for it to be successful. They are TIME, MONEY AND ENERGY. As a corporate employee, you have limited amount of Time, you have average amount of Energy and a little bit of Money. Which ever you choose to dwell on is a challenge on its own.

In previous posts, I have spoken about Time management (here , and here )but it is evident that it is a green eyed monster that is dragging our dreams with us. We have to find a way to kills this monster or at least, turn it into a jelly fish and keep in a bottle so that we can show it off to our friends and family (lol).

I have a secret weapon you can use to get rid of this green eyed monster. I will be sharing it on Sunday, September 4th, 2016 between 3pm and 4pm.

I am sure you will not want to miss it. It is happening on Zoom.US meeting room. It is a first one for me as I am having my signature session , VALID DREAMS with Francisca , online.

On getting home on a Friday night, all tired and stressed up, the only thing on your mind is a plate of hot Garri with Vegetable soup.

You rush into the kitchen to boil little water for your garri just as you are pulling off your shoes at the entrance to the kitchen. After changing from your office ware, you went back into the kitchen only to discover that your gas just got exhausted. You then rush to your neighbor who borrowed you his kerosene stove for use.

After making your food and settling to eat, you discovered you do not have enough drinking water in the house except the little remaining in the bottle you bought on your way home from work. You will have to manage the bit you have.

You decide to settle into your sofa to chill with your TV (cinema style) . Just as you were scrolling the channels, the dreaded notification came up – : “E16” – your subscription had expired.

How will you feel?

Let us list out some of the emotions that you could feel

Anger

Frustration

Overwhelm

Displeasure

Hopelessness

And others

When these emotions start playing up, what will you do?[Tweet “When these emotions start playing up, what will you do?”]

The scenario above plays out in our business lives once in a while. We sometimes have great expectations on a project or in a prospect and all this don’t just happen as planned. It will look as if every element had planned a coup against our success. In situations like that, how do you react?

The answer to this question varies from person to person. How you react to your emotions determine the action you will take and this ultimately determines the expected result you will get.

Reaction to emotions → Actions taken →→ End results

[Tweet “Reaction to emotions → Actions taken →→ End results”]

I urge you to take decisive steps toward reacting to your emotions in the right way.

Do you wish to talk more on this and how it affects your business and productivity? Drops some lines on my inbox through hello@franciscaogunlade.com

Because I had to wake him up at night and we had a prayer session, I ended up getting to the office late by a few minutes.

In the afternoon, I delivered him a surprise cake. The cake is so beautiful and equally delicious(that is the picture of the cake).

When I was having a potion of the cake at night, my mind drifted to a friend of mine. I will call her Tricia.

Tricia finished from the university with good grades but she was unable to secure a good job after school. Along the line, she got married and had an adorable daughter.

Her husband thought it wise that she should learn and practice a skill so she won’t be idle.

She loves food and everything that pertains to food and food mix. Naturally, she told her husband she will enroll into a culinary school. Her husband was vehement and stood his ground that his wife, Tricia, should decide on another skill to learn. To him, being a chef was not a good enough trade.

This battle went on for a while until she decided to go with her husband’s choice of enrolling into a fashion school. Her husband believes the world is incomplete without fashion and thus, fashion business was an unending lucrative business.

Six months down the line, Tricia could not sew a simple straight seem. She put her mind and heart to the training but she was not just getting a grasp of it. It was frustrating and annoying at the same time. She felt like a failure.

Tricia decided to retrace her steps. She found ways to convince her husband about her desire to follow her passion and dreams. She eventually got a Yes from her husband and focused on her dream which is in the kitchen.

Need I say that she excelled in her culinary school within 6 weeks.

You could be Tricia, wanting a dream life but discouraged by well meaning friends. You could also be Tricia’s husband, wanting the best for your loved one, forgetting the individual has a dream. You could be an onlooker, wondering why Tricia is failure in a fashion school.

Whoever you are or decide to be does not matter, what matters is the dream that needs to be accomplished.[Tweet “What matters is the dream that needs to be accomplished”]

This is the point I come in. I am a dream creator; helping you discover your dreams and seeing them come into reality. Being a Plan B strategist for corporate employee has given me the fulfillment of seeing dreams materialize as intentional and guided steps are taken.

I am commencing on a 21 days Plan B challenge starting on August 22 and ending on September 11th.

What is this challenge about?

This challenge is to help every participant identify and create a side business based on your strength by the end of the 21 days.

It is going to be a self discovery journey of 21 days.

I must also say that the work has to done by you to be able to get the result you desire.

It is a priority shift adventure

It is free for now.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

A mail will be delivered into your mailbox by 10am daily. You are to read and act on the content of the mail.

This picture depicts the use of another person’s influence to get your desired result even party Jollof rice. ( If you are a Nigerian, you will understand the importance of party Jollof, lol)

There is even another meme that pictures a man dancing his heart out when he learnt that his mother is in charge of the party Jollof rice.

There is a business lesson to be learnt from this meme.

Having worked in a bank for 10 years and still counting, I have learnt a great deal especially as it pertains to getting new businesses.

Most times, marketers move out in droves in search of new businesses but all we that happens is just “Activity”. This is always very painful because a lot of effort has gone in without any tangible result.

The great businesses are gotten as a result of a phone call or a visit to the client by a particular officer.

[Tweet “The great businesses are gotten as a result of a phone call or a visit to the client by a particular officer”]

The person who makes the call or pays the visit that turned things around is regarded as “Connected”.

I laugh sometimes when I hear this statement about somebody. I have discovered that everyone is connected; it only depends on how well you nurture and use your connection.

You are sometimes faced with life challenges and it seems as if it will never end. The solution may be just for you to ask someone for help.

Unfortunately, we neglect this priceless gift we have and wallow in unnecessary pain.

I will like to give you an assignment today.

Do you have any challenge you wish to solve? Seek out 3 people in your cycle of friends who may likely have a solution for you and ask for help.

I have been running a series on Facebook titled #Lamentations. The series is about the life of a corporate employee and the challenges being faced on a daily basis. You can read this up on my Facebook page @franciscaogunlade.

This series is ending after 21 episodes. In the course of this series, I have been asked a lot of questions by people who wish to start a side business. This is why I am stating a “21 days Plan B challenge” for corporate employees who seek clarity in starting a side business.

The challenge will start on August 22 to September 11th,2016.

I will be sending you another mail to give you the details on how to be a part of his challenge.

According to the dictionary, sacrifice is giving up of something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance.

I know you may be wondering why I am defining a word which might be considered a general form of speech, it is all for a reason.

In order to reach an envisioned height in life, you need to understand value and importance.

[Tweet “In order to reach an envisioned height in life, you need to understand value and importance.”]

In the course of the week, I read about the Kenyan marathon athletes and I was marveled at the handwork they put in. an average Kenyan athlete would have ran across the mountains and lanes in a 4 hours race every morning before the sun rise. If we are to visualize this, it means that a Kenyan athlete would have been out of the house by 3.30am for his daily run so as to get back to the house by 7.30am so as to prepare for his day’s job. This means he must be out of his bed by 3 am (Chai, I begin to wonder how many hours he has to sleep).

Do you know that an average Olympian spends 10,000 hours in training before he can be considered a true athlete?

Do you know that you must have spent an average of 10,000 hours on a particular skill or trade before you can be considered an expert?

The hours spent in training, learning, practising on any trade must accumulate to give you that expertise needed for you to forge ahead.

For you to attain these number of hours, you have to make sacrifice. You have to give up something of value and importance.[Tweet “For you to attain these number of hours, you have to make sacrifice”]

If you are considering starting and running a side business, you have to prepare for a life of sacrifice.

You will have to sacrifice your time, your money and your pleasure to reach your new goal and vision.

When I started this journey of touching lives early this year, I never saw myself doing what I am doing right now.

It is so sweet because I have become a better person. What Is more, I get to talk with you, my friend, every week. I appreciate YOU.

August 1st is not my birthday but it is a significant day for me.

That day, I will join the list of Bestselling Authors – Gbam.

[Tweet “On August 1st, I will join the list of Bestselling Authors – Gbam.”]

Are you wondering how I got to know that I will become a bestseller Author? Simple.

I have already been assured by my father in heaven that whatever I lay my hands on shall prosper. This book is not an exception.

While in a group coaching earlier this year, I created a course on how I started a 6 figure diaper business with less than ten thousand naira. Along the line, I kept the curriculum in my files.

One day in the month of June, I won a 30days challenge and Boom! , my swagger was gingered.lol

My dear, this dream of writing a book kept me awake most nights in the months of June and July.

Even my day was filled with the vision of the smiles on the faces of those whose lives have changed as a result of reading and following every principle as stated in the book.

I am glad to announce to you that my ebook written just for you is ready.

Oya, roll out the drums. Lol.

Seriously, this 30 paged ebook is a life changer.

I am giving a 100% money back guarantee on the purchase of the book.

[Tweet “I am giving a 100% money back guarantee on the purchase of the book.”]

This book is very practical and if all steps in the ebook are followed religiously, a million naira business can be created with the system that has been used and trusted which are embedded in the book.

This game changer will be hitting the shelves on 1st of August, 2016.

Why is it a game changer?

You get to know how to start a trading business with little or no capital

You get to know how not identify a viable market

You get to know practical steps to making sales

You get to know how to enforce accountability

You get a workbook to ensure you actually get results

I will be teaching this eBook as a $100 course towards the end of the year. I am however giving out this eBook for just N2000 for a short while.

You get a 25% discount at a Pre-order offer for N1500 which ends by midnight of 31th July, 2016.